What The Menendez Brothers Spent On Their Spree

Here's How Much The Menendez Brothers Spent On Their Spree

For seven years, Lyle and Erik Menendez’s fascinating, gruesome, bewildering crime dominated the news cycle. On August 20, 1989, Lyle (21) and Erik (18) murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Calabasas home — though it would be some time before anyone suspected them of the crime. Since this incident clearly screams, “Turn me into a true-crime special,” NBC is recreating the trial with its show Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, which premiered on 26th September.

For people whose parents had just been brutally murdered, Lyle and Erik Menendez sure behaved oddly. Although the brothers’ inheritance was uncertain — their father had threatened to remove them from the will — they did receive an insurance payout of $650,000 (£480,000). And boy, did they begin to spend it. The Menendez brothers’ spending spree was one of the principal pieces of evidence the prosecution used against them in the trial.

Between committing the crime and confessing on 31st October 1989, the brothers went through about £520,000. In today’s terms, that translates to an even million. Here’s what they spent it on.